


Secret Santa

by FeatherFall101



Category: The Arcana (Visual Novel)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-23
Updated: 2018-12-23
Packaged: 2019-09-25 11:09:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,070
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17120240
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FeatherFall101/pseuds/FeatherFall101





	Secret Santa

Lebada was starting to wonder how she had gotten into this situation in the first place as she tried to stop Julian fussing over her. She had been spending more and more time with Julian lately, politely listening as he regaled her with tales of his misadventures. She had made an off hand comment of how wonderful it would be to go somewhere new after one of his stories and, with a twinkle in his eye and a grin on his face, he clasped her hand and spirited her away. As they ran through the streets and alleyways in the afternoon, laughing and dodging the people who were going about their day, until they ended up at the docks where Julian insisted Lebada pick a direction. “The first step of adventuring is taking off for the unknown! The second is deciding where to go!” He exclaimed joyfully a slight blush across his cheeks. His excitement was contagious and she found herself grinning before running off down the beach, her hand still in his.  
So for now they were trapped in cavern somewhere along the Vesuvian coast line. They had found a small hole in the cliffside and ventured into it, Julian claiming it would be a great spot for smugglers to hide treasure. As they explored they found a tunnel that went deep into the cliff side and would indeed make a great spot for smugglers with plenty of offshoots and ledges to climb up and hide treasure. What they had failed to realise was how close the tide was, so when it came in the entrance and their only way out was flooded. They seemed to be safe where they were and they seemed to have plenty of air meaning there should be another way out above the water. So Lebada followed Julian as he climbed to one of the higher spaces looking for a way out and, clumsy as she was, she had managed to fall and twist her ankle. It wasn’t hard to fix but Julian insisted on trying to help though he no longer had his mark and the powers that came with it and Lebada was more than capable of healing herself. She sighed and smiled at him.

“Okay Julian, I’ll let you help, but first it's time for another magic lesson.” Shifting to make herself more comfortable, mindful of the pain she sat up grabbing a nearby rock and begun carving sigils in the caverns stone floor. “I’m going to teach you the most simple healing spell, it will work for minor injuries and won’t make you use too much energy.”

She glanced up to Julian as she spoke, her smile widened. He was sitting up straight, watching intently and focused on her hands. She explained the meaning of each sigil before taking Julian’s hand, marred with a shallow cut he received earlier from a jagged rock, in both of hers. Still watching her but not meeting her gaze he started to blush. 

“Focus your energy, and concentrate it in your hands. It should feel warm and soothing, almost like stepping into a bath. When you’re healing you need to know what is wrong. Healing comes in two parts, to physically heal think of how you want to wound to fix, for a cut imagine the wound being cleaned, the skin coming back together...” She moved a hand to show him his cut, and ran a finger gently over it, he watched in wonder and the skin knitted together and the wound closed, although his hand still stung.

“What is the other part?” he tilted his head intensely focused on her.

“The other part is feeling. Think of things that make you feel good, things that soothe, or energise. Aloe cooling a burn, honey to soften skin, massage to soothe aching muscles, a warm bath, a cosy fire. Think of something that makes you feel good, then channel that feeling into your magic” He watched as she leaned down and placed a kiss at the place his wound was. This time he felt the sting fade away and a feeling of comfort and care in its place. He stared in awe, barely aware of himself nodding his head in understanding, blushing deeply at the attention.

“That’s part of the reason why mothers kiss a child when they hurt themselves. It makes them feel better even if there is no magic involved” she smile sweetly up at him. “Now you try!” 

She adjusted herself next to him and placed her leg across his lap allowing him to easily reach her ankle. Julian looked extremely nervous as he carefully felt her swollen ankle, feeling for the damage as gently as he could, feeling a twinge of guilt when he heard the ghost of a pained hiss escape her.

“It doesn’t feel as bad as I thought.” he admitted as he tried to follow her instructions. He remembered how it felt to summon magic while they were in the tower’s realm, which felt like so long ago now. He thought about words she showed him and the meanings she explained. Finally he felt a warm tingling in his hands and channeled the magic into healing her. He thought about making the swelling go down, making sure the bone is in place. He thought about comforting her, about taking the pain away, and the time they spent together since he met her again for the first time that fateful day he let himself into her shop.

“Is that better?” he sighed looking hopefully as Lebada stretched and flexed her foot. 

“Still a little stiff but its healed, you did so well! I’m proud of you!” She grinned up at him.

A moment passed before he leaned slowly down towards, her closing his eyes as he pressed his lips to hers. His arm wrapped around her waist as her hand reached up to cup his cheek. 

“Does that feel better?” he asked as he pulled away reluctantly, eyes searching her face for any sign of discomfort. 

The faintest touch of pink could be seen through her freckled features as she returned his gaze. 

“Yes...” she admitted shyly.

He smiled warmly down at her and pulled her into a warm embrace. “Let’s wait here until the tide is out again.”

“Yeah, then we can continue our adventure!” she smiled as she snuggled into him, enjoying the warmth he brought her.


End file.
